Lea Michele: Cory Monteith Is ‘Watching Everything I’m Doing’

Lea is the epitome of a strong woman. On the March 2014 cover of ‘Teen Vogue,’ the actress and singer looks more beautiful than ever — and is opening up to her best friend about the best friend she lost last year.

Lea Michele had an emotional heart-to-heart with her co-star Jonathan Groff for a different kind of interview in Teen Vogue. She revealed how she came up with the name Louder for her new album — and what Cory Monteith‘s favorite song on it was.

Lea Michele: Cory Monteith Is Watching Over Me

With a new album out, a new music video and a whole new outlook on life, Lea revealed that she couldn’t believe the support she felt from her friends and family during the loss of Cory — and the strength in knowing he’s always there.

“I somehow feel the insane love Cory and I had for each other morphed into this strength that I have right now,” she told her BFF. “There’s just something about knowing he’s watching everything I’m doing and feeling like I have to do everything now not just for me but for him. I also have a safety net below me — if I fall or if it’s too much, my friends and family will be there to catch me.”

“I was at a great place in my life and I was so unbelievably happy — my relationship with Cory made me feel like I could reach for the stars and more,” she told Jonathan. “So I was like, ‘I’m going to challenge myself and do this record now.’ It’s obviously pop, but I think it shows me off as a singer.”

As for the title, it’s called Louder because she’s loud! “I come from an Italian family, I don’t stop talking,” she said — which is definitely something that she has in common with Rachel Berry.

On the cover of the mag, Lea looks absolutely stunning — her skin is flawless in the close up shot and her hair is pulled into a loose, nice bun. We’ve got to say — her eyelashes are completely perfect!

Lea Says Cory Montieth ‘Was Such A Fan’ Of Mine

In Cory’s eyes, Lea was perfect too, and vice versa. The two were so in love and it comes out loud and clear in the interview.

“My favorite song is, 100 percent, ‘You’re Mine.’ I listened to it the other day — it was the one song I had the most emotional reaction to, just because that’s my relationship with Cory,” she told Jonathan. Cory would even give her feedback and “notes” on each song!

However, it was hard for Lea to decide which was Cory’s favorite song on the album.

“He was such a fan, you don’t understand. He would be like, ‘You’re going to be a pop star! What are we going to do? Are we going to, like, go on the road?'” she remembered. “He would say, ‘This is going to be big.’ “He loved ‘Battlefield.’ I’m getting chills thinking about it. I would say ‘Burn with You’ was his favorite. He came into the studio that day.”